Regional

12:11 pm

Wed February 5, 2014

Salazar: Build Keystone Pipeline

Former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says he believes the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada should be built.

Salazar said at an energy conference in Houston Wednesday that the pipeline could be built safely, as long as conditions are imposed. Those conditions would require the pipeline operator to meet tough environmental standards and even pay for conservation programs along the pipeline route.

Salazar told The Associated Press that the pipeline could be a "win-win" project that benefits U.S. energy security while boosting conservation efforts in Montana, South Dakota and other affected states.

Salazar's comments follow a State Department report last week that raised no major environmental objections to the $7 billion pipeline. The pipeline would carry oil from western Canada to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.

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